HANGZHOU - Taekwondo provided Team Philippines its first medal in the 19th Asian Games as Patrick Perez bagged bronze in the men's individual poomsae on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Perez made it to the semifinals, but lost to Ma Yun Zhong of Chinese Taipei.
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Perez scored 6.910 points in the discipline that combined both freestyle and recognized events, while Ma had 7.450 points to advance in the gold medal match against Kang Wanjin of South Korea at the Lin'an Sports and Culture Exhibition Center.
Perez, winner of the gold in the same event during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, was ecstatic after delivering the first podium finish for the country on the day action went full blast in the quadrennial showcase.
"I couldn't believe I won a bronze. I'm really happy. All the hard work paid off," said the Filipino, who registered 7.640 points in the recognized and 6.180 in the freestyle.
But Ma had the superior scores after a combine output of 8.000 and 6.900 in his routines.
Perez reached the semis after defeating Prem Bahadur Limbu of Nepal in the quarterfinals.
Three-time SEA Games gold medal winner Jocel Lyn Ninobla however, fell short of a podium finish following her loss to Kang Wanjin of South Korea in the round of 16 in women's individual.
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